Bill Summary
The "No Harm Data Centers Act" is legislation aimed at addressing the impact of large data centers on the electric grid and protecting American families from associated costs. The Act establishes that data centers, which consume significant amounts of electricity, should bear the full financial responsibility for the infrastructure and reliability costs they incur on the bulk power system.
Key components of the legislation include:
1. **Definition of Data Centers**: It defines a data center as any facility with a peak electricity demand exceeding 50 megawatts, which primarily contains electronic equipment for processing, storing, and transmitting digital information.
2. **Cost Allocation**: The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) is granted authority to set rates for electricity sold to data centers, ensuring that these rates cover all related costs, including upgrading transmission and distribution facilities necessary for their operation.
3. **Prohibition on Cost-Shifting**: Electric utilities are prohibited from passing on costs related to data centers to other customers, thereby protecting residential and small commercial electricity users from increased rates.
4. **Judicial Enforceability**: The Act limits the enforceability of predispute nondisclosure clauses against public officials concerning data center construction, enhancing transparency.
5. **Environmental and Public Health Assessment**: It mandates an assessment by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine to evaluate the environmental and public health impacts of data centers, including noise, air and water pollution, and waste management.
Overall, this legislation seeks to ensure that the expansion of data centers does not adversely affect electricity rates for average consumers and to mitigate their environmental impact.
Possible Impacts
The "No Harm Data Centers Act" could affect people in the following ways:
1. **Reduction in Electricity Costs for Consumers**: By ensuring that data centers pay their fair share of the costs associated with their electricity consumption—including the infrastructure necessary to support their high demand—residential and small commercial electricity customers may experience lower electricity rates. This could provide financial relief to families and small businesses that might otherwise bear the costs of data centers through higher utility bills.
2. **Increased Accountability for Data Centers**: The legislation mandates that data centers are responsible for the full costs associated with their electricity usage, including the construction and upgrading of necessary infrastructure. This could lead to improved operational practices within the data center industry, as they would need to invest in sustainable and efficient energy solutions. As a result, the community could benefit from a more reliable electric grid and potentially less environmental impact.
3. **Environmental and Public Health Assessments**: The requirement for the Environmental Protection Agency to assess the environmental and public health effects of data centers may lead to increased awareness and action regarding issues like noise pollution, carbon emissions, and electronic waste. Communities near data centers could see improvements in their local environment and health outcomes based on the recommendations that arise from these assessments. This could lead to a more informed public and better regulatory frameworks to mitigate any negative externalities associated with data centers.
[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 8033 Introduced in House (IH)]
<DOC>
119th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 8033
To ensure that American families are protected from the impacts of data
centers on the electric grid, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
March 20, 2026
Mr. Landsman introduced the following bill; which was referred to the
Committee on Energy and Commerce
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To ensure that American families are protected from the impacts of data
centers on the electric grid, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``No Harm Data Centers Act''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
Congress finds that--
(1) data centers, while creating potentially economically
valuable tools, impose costs upon other electricity customers,
in the form of higher costs for the generation of electricity,
along with necessary investments in electric infrastructure;
and
(2) the costs imposed by data centers upon the bulk-power
system should be fully borne by data centers and that other
residential and small commercial electricity customers should
be economically protected from the impacts of data centers.
SEC. 3. ENSURING DATA CENTERS PAY THEIR FAIR SHARE.
(a) Data Center Defined.--Section 3 of the Federal Power Act (16
U.S.C. 796) is amended by adding at the end the following:
``(30) Data center.--The term `data center' means--
``(A) any facility that--
``(i) is behind a single point of
interconnection;
``(ii) primarily contains electronic
equipment used to process, store, and transmit
digital information; and
``(iii) has a peak electricity demand of
greater than 50 megawatts; or
``(B) any group of facilities--
``(i) that are behind a single point of
interconnection;
``(ii) the majority of which primarily
contain electronic equipment used to process,
store, and transmit digital information; and
``(iii) that, in the aggregate, have a peak
electricity demand of greater than 50
megawatts.''.
(b) Ensuring Data Centers Pay Their Fair Share.--The Federal Power
Act is amended by inserting after section 223 (16 U.S.C. 824w) the
following:
``SEC. 224. ENSURING DATA CENTERS PAY THEIR FAIR SHARE.
``(a) Authority.--
``(1) In general.--Notwithstanding subsection (a) and
subsection (b)(1) of section 201, and subject to subsection
(d), the Commission shall, beginning on the date that is 90
days after the date of enactment of this section, have the sole
authority to approve rates and charges for the retail sale of
electric energy from a covered electric utility to a data
center.
``(2) Just and reasonable requirement.--All rates and
charges approved by the Commission pursuant to paragraph (1)
shall be just and reasonable, and not unduly discriminatory or
preferential. If the Commission finds, after a hearing held
upon its own motion or upon complaint, that any rate or charge
approved by the Commission is unjust or unreasonable, or unduly
discriminatory or preferential, the Commission shall fix a new
rate or charge that is just and reasonable and not unduly
discriminatory or preferential.
``(b) Full Allocation of Costs.--Any rate or charge approved
pursuant to subsection (a) shall include--
``(1) the full costs of constructing, upgrading, and
expanding any transmission or distribution facility to
facilitate the interconnection of data centers to the bulk-
power system;
``(2) the full costs of constructing, upgrading, and
expanding any transmission or distribution facility to ensure
the reliability of the bulk-power system during periods of
increasing demand for electric energy from data centers; and
``(3) the full costs of constructing, upgrading, and
expanding any generating facility to facilitate the reliability
of the bulk-power system during periods of increasing demand
for electric energy from data centers.
``(c) Prohibition on Cost-shifting.--No covered electric utility
may shift the costs described in paragraphs (1) through (3) of
subsection (b) onto their retail rates or charges for any customer
other than a data center.
``(d) Inapplicability.--This section shall not apply within the
area referred to in section 212(k)(2)(A).
``(e) Definitions.--In this section:
``(1) Commission.--The term `Commission' means the Federal
Energy Regulatory Commission.
``(2) Covered electric utility.--The term `covered electric
utility' means a person that sells electric energy, except--
``(A) an electric cooperative described in section
201(f);
``(B) an electric utility that is owned or operated
by a State or political subdivision thereof;
``(C) the Tennessee Valley Authority; and
``(D) each Federal power marketing
administration.''.
(c) Penalties.--The Federal Power Act (16 U.S.C. 792 et seq.) is
amended--
(1) in section 221, by inserting ``, the price of
electricity sold to data centers at retail and inputs to such
price,'' after ``sold at wholesale'';
(2) in section 307(a), by inserting ``, the sale of
electric energy at retail to data centers,'' after ``at
wholesale in interstate commerce'';
(3) in section 311, by striking ``and industrial'' and
inserting ``data center, and industrial''; and
(4) in section 316A(b)--
(A) by striking ``Any person who violates any
provision of part II'' and inserting the following:
``(1) In general.--Any person who violates any provision of
part II, except for section 224,'';
(B) by striking ``Such penalty'' and inserting the
following:
``(2) Data center violations.--Any person who violates any
provision of section 224 or any provision of any rule or order
thereunder shall be subject to a civil penalty of not more than
$10,000,000 for each day that such violation continues.
``(3) Assessment.--A penalty under this subsection''; and
(C) by striking ``In determining the amount of a
proposed penalty,'' and inserting the following:
``(4) Penalty amount.--In determining the amount of a
proposed penalty under this subsection,''.
(d) Conforming Amendment.--Section 201(e) of the Federal Power Act
(16 U.S.C. 824(e)) is amended by striking ``or 222'' and inserting
``222, or 224''.
SEC. 4. LIMITATION ON JUDICIAL ENFORCEABILITY OF PREDISPUTE
NONDISCLOSURE CONTRACT CLAUSES RELATING TO THE
CONSTRUCTION OF DATA CENTERS.
(a) In General.--
(1) Enforceability against public officials.--With respect
to the construction of a data center, no predispute
nondisclosure clause shall be judicially enforceable against a
public official.
(2) Continued applicability of state law.--This section
shall not be construed to supersede a provision of State law
that establishes, implements, or continues in effect a
requirement or prohibition except to the extent that such
requirement or prohibition prevents the application of this
section.
(b) Applicability.--This section shall apply with respect to a
claim that is filed under Federal, State, or Tribal law on or after the
date of the enactment of this Act.
SEC. 5. ASSESSMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL AND PUBLIC HEALTH EFFECTS OF DATA
CENTERS.
The Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency shall seek
to enter into an agreement with the National Academies under which the
National Academies shall--
(1) conduct an assessment of the impacts of data centers on
the environment and public health, including with respect to--
(A) noise pollution;
(B) air pollution;
(C) water consumption;
(D) water supply;
(E) carbon emissions; and
(F) waste, including electronic waste;
(2) develop recommendations to mitigate such impacts; and
(3) not later than 180 days after the date of the enactment
of this Act, submit to the Committee on Energy and Commerce of
the House of Representatives and the Committee on Environment
and Public Works of the Senate a report containing the results
of the assessment conducted under paragraph (1) and the
recommendations developed under paragraph (2).
SEC. 6. DEFINITIONS.
For purposes of this Act:
(1) Data center.--The term ``data center'' means--
(A) any facility that--
(i) is behind a single point of
interconnection;
(ii) primarily contains electronic
equipment used to process, store, and transmit
digital information; and
(iii) has a peak electricity demand of
greater than 50 megawatts; or
(B) any group of facilities--
(i) that are behind a single point of
interconnection;
(ii) the majority of which primarily
contain electronic equipment used to process,
store, and transmit digital information; and
(iii) that, in the aggregate, have a peak
electricity demand of greater than 50
megawatts.
(2) National academies.--The term ``National Academies''
means the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and
Medicine.
(3) Predispute nondisclosure clause.--The term ``predispute
nondisclosure clause'' means a provision in a contract or
agreement agreed to before a lawsuit is filed under Federal,
State, or Tribal law, that requires the parties to the contract
or agreement not to disclose or discuss conduct, the existence
of a settlement involving conduct, or information covered by
the terms and conditions of the contract or agreement.
(4) Public official.--The term ``public official'' means an
individual who, at the time a contract or agreement was agreed
to, was an elected official of a Federal, State, or local unit
of government in the United States.
<all>